Trump administration puts Seashore Advisory Commission on hold

Friday

May 12, 2017 at 10:33 AMMay 12, 2017 at 10:33 AM

By Jeff BlanchardBanner Correspondent

One hundred days into the Trump administration, Cape Cod got its first hint of what the future may hold for the Cape Cod National Seashore, and to the Seashore Advisory Commission, “It was an uh-oh moment,” said Maureen Burgess, the Truro delegate.

Burgess said she was “shocked” to learn that the federal government had ordered a halt to future meetings of the advisory commission, which represents the interests of the six towns within the national park, along with the county, state and federal government.

Since the Seashore was created in 1961, the commission has met every other month to advise the federal government on how best to manage the 44,000-acre preserve, and it has been working lately on issues ranging from infrastructure maintenance and repair and the potential redevelopment of Horton’s Campground in Truro to the environmental dangers posed by the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station in Plymouth.

It is the longest serving commission of its kind in the nation, and its influence as a local guardian of the federal park has never been seriously threatened.

“This is unusual,” said commission Chair Rich Delaney. “It’s not something that’s happened before in my time here, and I was first appointed by Gov. Dukakis in the early ’80s.”

Eastham delegate Don Nuendel said, “It just blows my mind that everything coming out of Washington these days seems to be chaos.”

What worries Delaney, Burgess, Nuendel and others is that the shutdown of the commission, a nonpartisan group, could represent the tip of the Trump administration’s spear in opening up the National Seashore to any number of possible developments, on land and sea.

“God knows what could happen,” said Burgess, but among the signs coming from Washington that concern her most was the recent news that the administration is reviewing the legitimacy of so-called presidential monuments, in which past presidents have decided to set aside land parcels in excess of 100,000 acres for preservation, including one in Maine that is now being reviewed with an eye toward opening it up for development.

Rules and restrictions regarding private property rights, offshore oil drilling and the commercial development of seashore parkland are among the areas of concern for commissioners, in addition to the safe operation of the power plant in Plymouth.

At the same time as the advisory commission is grappling with a new bureaucratic order, the Seashore is also undergoing its own leadership transition with the retirement of Supt. George Price and the appointment of Interim Supt. Kathy Tevyaw, who said questions about the advisory commission’s future should be put to the Dept. of Interior.

In a statement to the Banner Monday, Paul Ross, a spokesman for Secretary of the Dept. of Interior Ryan Zinke, said, “The secretary is committed to restoring trust in the department’s decision-making and that begins with institutionalizing state and local input and ongoing collaboration, particularly in communities surrounding public lands.

“The department currently has more than 200 boards, committees and other internal and external advisory functions that are authorized to solicit input and meet periodically,” Ross said. “To maximize feedback from these boards and ensure their compliance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act and the president’s recent executive orders, the department is currently reviewing the charter and charge of each board/advisory committee. This review process necessitates the temporary postponement of advisory committee meetings.

“As the department concludes its review in the weeks ahead, agencies will notice future meetings to ensure that the department continues to get the benefit of the views of local communities in all decision-making on public land management.”

Historically, the Seashore’s Charter is renewed by the federal government every 10 years, with its next renewal scheduled for 2019.

The next meeting of the advisory commission was scheduled for Monday, May 15, but will be put on hold under further word from Washington.

Meanwhile, the volunteer group does have a social outing to attend: tonight, Thursday, May 11 in Eastham, members will celebrate Supt. Price’s retirement with a sold-out dinner at the Elks.

“You can imagine we’ll all be comparing notes,” Delaney said. And no matter what direction the advisory commission is headed in, he added, “The Park will go on.”

But there could be a game changer.

“If they decide they don’t need advisory commissioners, that’ll be a different ballgame,” Delaney said.

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